Improvement in cotton-packers



i UNITED j STATES LEwIs s. cIIIorIEsrEE, or NEW YORK, N. Y., vAssIGNoETo H. G. Evans,

PATENT OFFICE. l

OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT |N co'rToN-PAGKERS.`

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 26,546, dated December2l, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, LEWIS S. GHIcrIEsTER, of the city, county,'andState of New York, have invented a new and useful Machine for lPressing-Cotton and other Fibrous Substances into Sacks; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part ofthis speciication, in which- Figurel is a front elevation of myinvention. Fig. 2 is a side sectional view ofthe same, taken in the linex x, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the same, taken inVstaple cotton, which, as is well known, cannot` be compressed into balesas the ordinary or short-staple cotton, in consequence of the injurythat would be done to the liber by the eX- treme pressure. staple cottoninto sacks has hitherto been done by asiInple manual operation,consuming considerable time and endangering the rhealth of theoperators. are fully obviated by thisinvention. j

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and `construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a flooring to `which two uprights, B B, are secured, saiduprights being connected at their upper ends by a cross-bar, G. Eachupright B has a lateral projection, a, attached to it, in which theupper parts of grooves b terminate, said grooves extending down to thelower ends of the uprights, and forming guides for a plunger, D. l Thisplunger D is of circular form, and is provided at its edge with anannular iiange, c, which projects at right angles from 'the face of theplunger,

reference indicate corre- This work of pressing longl These difficultiesit is believed e, the pins fitting in the grooves b `b. j

To the plunger D a toggle, 1E, is attached,i` the upper arm orlever, f,of which issecured 1j Y to the under side of the cross-bar C, the lowere j lever `being secured to theupper surface ofyz e the plunger. Thelowerpart of the lever j' isI l l. curved seas to form a handle, F,which proi y jects from said lever at a'slightly `obtuse angle,jf` e asshown clearlyin Fig. 2. 1

G is a hollow-1 metal cylinder, which is `sei cured to the liooringfr`between the two 11p-h rights B B, the lflooring having an opening in itover which the cylinder is secured, andcor-l` responding in diameter tothe cylinder.` The1 diameter of the plunger D is equal to the in-` jternal 'diameter of the cylinderG, or nearly e so, space being allowedbetweenthe two for; a sack, H, (see Fig. 2,)which isiitted within` l thecylinder, the plunger :D` working within l the sack, as shown in `Fig..3.

I I are two spring-clamps,` whichare at-v` l, 1 f tached to the uprightsB B `neartheir lowerg j These clamps may be constructed `ofi l steel,and so curved as to conform to the cyl-M` inder Gr,V as shown in Fig. 3;These clampsat f e one end areattached to theuprights by joints g, andthe opposite ends are connected to the ends.

uprights by staples h and pins 'L'.

The operation is as follows:

sliding over the cylinder Grin` consequence of as shownclearly in Fig.2. The plunger has a curvedarm, d, attached to each side of itg-gy andthese arms are each provided with apins` i The operator@ y. raises theplunger D by drawing outward the l handle F of the toggle, thelpins c efitting in the upper ends of the grooves b b, and .the .1 1 y) plungerretained ina vertical or edgewise pcq i .j l sition, 'as shown clearlyin Fig. 2; This posij tion of the plunger fully exposes the cylinder G,and the operator then takes the sack H e and turns it inside outward andfits it on the` u l cylinder G, crowding it down `onthe'cylinder, n juntil its end will fit a short distance ,within` 3.

l the cylinder G. e The clampsII are then adjusted to the cylinder and`pressthe sack there-;` j

The operator then grasps the lever F,`1and e an attendant throws aquantity of cottonlinto the, sack I-I. The operator thenjforces inwardH." j

the handle F, and the plunger-D descendsand `l compresses the cotton,and "ati the same time forces down the sack, the latter rendering on` bybeing adjusted to the sack and cylinder more or less tightly, determinethe amount of pressure to which the cotton is subjected, and this, bymeans of graduating screws, wedges, or keys, may be regulated asdesired. Each time the plunger is raised the attendant throws a quantityof cotton into the bag, and each time the plunger descends the cottonpreviously thrown is compressedl and the sackv forced down, theoperation being continued until th sack is filled.

By this invention it will be seen that sacks, however long, may beiilled by a plunger having but a moderate length of movement, and thatthe cotton pressed into them may be subjected to a greater or lessdegree of pressure by A simply graduating the pressure of the clamps II. The method of doing the work at present is to insert the sack in ahole in the flooring and secure its top thereto. A workman then entersthe bag and pounds the cotton in the sack as it is thrown into it by anattendant. This is not only a slow operation, but a very unhealthy one,as the operator within the sack inhales the dust that rises from thecotton as it is pounded. The fiber of the cotton is also liable to beinjured by the operation, and when unpacked, even if not injured, itdoes not present that systematic and -salable appearance as when packedby my machine. The ilange c of the plunger insures a nice disposition ofthe fiber adjoining the sack, and has a tendency to prevent its beingbroken or injured by friction against the sack while being forced downwithin it.

lIhe whole device may be constructed and erected in workin g order at avery reasonable cost.

I do not confine .myself to the mode herein shown for operating theplunger D, for other means may be used, although the plan herein shownand described would probably be equal, if not superior, to other modes.

Y l-Iavingthus described my invention, vwhat I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

Pressing cotton and other fibrous substances into sacks H by placing thesame on a hollow Y V'Vitnesses:

WVM. TUscH, R. S. SPENCER.

